Falling sphere observations of anisotropic gravity wave motions in the upper stratosphere over Australia

A study of inertial scale gravity wave motions in the region of the atmosphere between 30 and 60 km has been undertaken, using wind and temperature data derived from rocket-borne falling sphere density experiments performed over Woomera, Australia between 1962 nad 1976. The gross features of the wave field compare favorably with those found in similar northern hemispheric studies. Wave propagation is found to be both vertically and horizontally anisotropic. A rotary spectral analysis indicates predominately upgoing wave energy, suggesting that the majority of sources of these waves lie below 30 km. A detailed statistical investigation of the waves, made using the Stokes parameters technique, reveals that phase progression is also highly directional in the horizontal, with a significant zonal component in summer, but with a strong meridional component in winter. Propagation towards the southeast is inferred in summer, with the waves possibly emanating from tropospheric sources in equatorial regions to the north of Australia. The technique also shows that, on average, the waves appear to have mean ellipse eccentricities (=f/) around 0.4–0.45. Indirect estimates of a number of important wave parameters are made. In particular,v andw flux estimates are made over several height intervals. The vertical gradient of density weighted flux implies wave-induced mean flow accelerations of the order 0.1–1 ms^–1day^–1. This suggests that dissipating gravity waves are a significant source of the momentum residuals that are encountered in studies of satellite data from this region.     

用日全食光谱探测太阳中低层大气对局部热动平衡的偏离

在太阳大气不同层次连续光谱中叠加有丰富的发射线或吸收线,对这些谱线轮廓进行反演分析可以探测太阳大气的化学成分和物理状态.太阳大气的色球及过渡区由于其密度低难以建立热动平衡,建立相应的大气模型需要采用非局部热动平衡(Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium,N-LTE)理论.根据相对偏离因子计算来研究太阳中低层大气偏离局部热动平衡(Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium,LTE)分布的情况.首先对日全食观测过程中得到色球和过渡区不同高度形成的两条光谱数据进行反演,得到确定观测谱线的参数信息,如连续谱源函数、谱线源函数、多普勒宽度和由此推出的等效动力学温度;根据这些反演出的谱线参量计算出二维视场内每个空间采样点偏离LTE状态的定量结果;其次,根据用于观测的积分视场单元光纤排布阵列重构出辐射强度、等效动力学温度和相对偏离因子二维分布.结果显示:在局部小区域,温度分布和相对偏离因子的分布存在较强相关性,而与辐射强度分布无明显相关.从两条谱线导出的等效温度和相对偏离因子分布存在明显的差异.这两种二维分布揭示出太阳大气某些小尺度区域具有较强的结构性和复杂性,为进一步理解太阳中低层大气物理提供了一种新的视角.     

高层大气密度的午夜极大值特征分析与建模

利用CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload)、GRACE-A (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-A)、SWARM-C (The Earth''s Magnetic Field and Environment Explorers-C)等3颗极轨卫星的资料, 研究360—480km高层大气密度在低纬度区域的午夜极大值(Midnight Density Maximum, MDM)现象. MDM一般出现在23:00- 02:00 LT (Local Time)之间,峰值位置在低纬度15°以内,谷值位置在中纬度35°-45°附近,整体略偏向南半球,振幅约为平均密度的26%.随着高度增大以及太阳辐射水平的增强,MDM振幅呈减小趋势;冬至和夏至日附近的季节效应会减弱MDM振幅,在春秋分日的振幅最大.用3个主流大气模型DTM2000 (Drag Temperature Model 2000), NRLMSISE00 (US Naval Research Laboratory, Mass Spectrom-eter and Incoherent Scatter radar)和JB2008 (Jacchia- Bowman 2008 model)对MDM进行模拟,JB2008没有刻画出MDM现象;另两个模型低估了MDM效应,在360km和480km两个高度DTM2000模型的振幅仅为观测的46%和53%, NRLMSISE00模型仅为观测的33%和26%;模型没有准确刻画出MDM与高度、辐射水平和季节的关系.联合3颗卫星的资料,研究了-种基于地理纬度的6阶勒让德多项式,同时融合地方时和高度因素的经验函数,在振幅和相位上可以较好地刻画MDM特征,相关系数达到0.923,可为大气密度模型的修正提供借鉴,服务于低轨道航天器高精度轨道预报.     

SWAS observations of water vapor in the Venus mesosphere

We present the first detections of the ground-state H₂¹⁶O (₁₁₀-₁₀₁) rotational transition (at 556.9 GHz) and the ¹³CO (5-4) rotational transition from the atmosphere of Venus, measured with the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS). The observed spectral features of these submillimeter transitions originate primarily from the 70-100 km altitude range, within the Venus mesosphere. Observations were obtained in December 2002, and January, March, and July 2004, coarsely sampling one Venus diurnal period as seen from Earth. The measured water vapor absorption line depth shows large variability among the four observing periods, with strong detections of the line in December 2002 and July 2004, and no detections in January and March 2004. Retrieval of atmospheric parameters was performed using a multi-transition inversion algorithm, combining simultaneous retrievals of temperature, carbon monoxide, and water profiles under imposed constraints. Analysis of the SWAS spectra resulted in measurements or upper limits for the globally averaged mesospheric water vapor abundance for each of the four observation periods, finding variability over at least two orders of magnitude. The results are consistent with both temporal and diurnal variability, but with short-term fluctuations clearly dominating. These results are fully consistent with the long-term study of mesospheric water vapor from millimeter and submillimeter observations of HDO [Sandor, B.J., Clancy, R.T., 2005. Icarus 177, 129-143]. The December 2002 observations detected very rapid change in the mesospheric water abundance. Over five days, a deep water absorption feature consistent with a water vapor abundance of 4.5±1.5 parts per million suddenly gave way to a significantly shallower absorption, implying a decrease in the water vapor abundance by a factor of nearly 50 in less that 48 h. In 2004, similar changes in the water vapor abundance were measured between the March and July SWAS observing periods, but variability on time scales of less than a week was not detected. The mesospheric water vapor is expected to be in equilibrium with aerosol particles, primarily composed of concentrated sulfuric acid, in the upper haze layers of the Venus atmosphere. If true, moderate amplitude (10-15 K) variability in mesospheric temperature, previously noted in millimeter spectroscopy observations of Venus, can explain the rapid water vapor variability detected by SWAS.     

Mapping of Ozone and Water in the Atmosphere of Mars near the 1997 Aphelion

We present absolute abundances and latitudinal variations of ozone and water in the atmosphere of Mars during its late northern spring (L_s=67.3°) shortly before aphelion. Long-slit maps of the a¹Δ_g state of molecular oxygen (O₂) and HDO, an isotopic form of water, were acquired on UT January 21.6 1997 using a high-resolution infrared spectrometer (CSHELL) at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. O₂(a¹Δ_g) is produced by ozone photolysis, and the ensuing dayglow emission at 1.27 μm is used as a tracer for ozone. Retrieved vertical column densities for ozone above ∼20 km ranged between 1.5 and 2.8 μm-atm at mid- to low latitudes (30°S-60°N) and decreased outside that region. A significant decrease in ozone density is seen near 30°N (close to the subsolar latitude of 23.5°N). The rotational temperatures retrieved from O₂(a-X) emissions show a mean of 172±2.5 K, confirming that the sensed ozone lies in the middle atmosphere (∼24 km). The ν₁ fundamental band of HDO near 3.67 μm was used as a proxy for H₂O. The retrieved vertical column abundance of water varies from 3 precipitable microns (pr-μm) at ∼30°S to 24 pr-μm at ∼60°N. We compare these results with current photochemical models and with measurements obtained by other methods.     

CO2 Snow on Mars and Early Earth: Experimental Constraints

Greenhouse warming due to carbon dioxide atmospheres may be responsible for maintaining the early Earth's surface temperature above freezing and may even have allowed for liquid water on early Mars. However, the high levels of CO₂ required for such warming should have also resulted in the formation of CO₂ clouds. These clouds, depending on their particle size, could lead to either warming or cooling. The particle size in turn is determined by the nucleation and growth conditions. Here we present laboratory studies of the nucleation and growth of carbon dioxide on water ice under martian atmospheric conditions. We find that a critical saturation, S=1.34, is required for nucleation, corresponding to a contact parameter between solid water and solid carbon dioxide of m=0.95. We also find that after nucleation occurs, growth of CO₂ is very rapid, and we report the growth rates at a number of supersaturations. Because growth would be expected to continue until the CO₂ pressure is lowered to its vapor pressure, we expect particles larger than those being currently suggested for the present and past martian atmospheres. Using this information in a microphysical model described in a companion paper, we find that CO₂ clouds are best described as “snow,” having a relatively small number of large particles.     

Abundances of Jupiter's trace hydrocarbons from Voyager and Cassini

The flybys of Jupiter by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979, and over two decades later by Cassini in 2000, have provided us with unique datasets from two different epochs, allowing the investigation of seasonal change in the atmosphere. In this paper we model zonal averages of thermal infrared spectra from the two instruments, Voyager 1 IRIS and Cassini CIRS, to retrieve the vertical and meridional profiles of temperature, and the abundances of the two minor hydrocarbons, acetylene (C₂H₂) and ethane (C₂H₆). The spatial variation of these gases is controlled by both chemistry and dynamics, and therefore their observed distribution gives us an insight into both processes. We find that the two gases paint quite different pictures of seasonal change. Whilst the 2-D cross-section of C₂H₆ abundance is slightly increased and more symmetric in 2000 (northern summer solstice) compared to 1979 (northern fall equinox), the major trend of equator to pole increase remains. For C₂H₂ on the other hand, the Voyager epoch exhibits almost no latitudinal variation, whilst the Cassini era shows a marked decrease polewards in both hemispheres. At the present time, these experimental findings are in advance of interpretation, as there are no published models of 2-D Jovian seasonal chemical variation available for comparison.     

Natural and anthropogenic C2 to C6 hydrocarbons in the central-eastern Venezuelan atmosphere during the rainy season

The levels of low molecular weight hydrocarbons were measured at pristine sites and rural locations affected by hydrocarbon emissions from oil and gas producing fields in Venezuela. At the clean sites, lower concentrations of C₂ to C₆ alkanes were observed, whereas, in comparison with remotes sites, very much higher levels were measured at the polluted sites. Alkenes present relatively high concentrations, with isoprene being the most abundant, all over the study region. The main sources of alkenes are likely to be natural, mainly from vegetation. The levels of alkanes recorded at the clean sites and the alkene levels found everywhere in the region are in agreement with the values reported for other clean sites in the tropics. The increase of ozone production capacity due to the anthropogenic emissions of alkanes from oil and gas fields was estimated. Due to the presence in the atmosphere of important amounts of naturally emitted isoprene, ethene and propene, which makes a substantial contribution to the reactivity of the hydrocarbon mixture, a small increase (<5%) was estimated to occur in the capacity of the ozone production at a regional scale during the rainy season.